A family in Rocky Mountain House is counting their blessing after their beloved dog fell off a cliff.

Justin Perschbacher took his dog Wrangler a four-year-old lab outside in the late afternoon on July 20, at his house in Rocky down 61 Street, after work like any other normal day.

“Nice day, took him out to the backyard and to the edge of the cliff there,” explained Perschbacher. “I was telling the dog you can’t go any further then this ledge here, then I went to turn around to let go of his collar and over the edge he went.”

Perschbacher recalls hearing a loud crash and some whining and then it went silent. “I thought he was dead,” added Perschbacher.

Jo-Anne Perschbacher, Justin’s wife, ran over to their neighbor’s house who is a former RCMP officer and he lined up all the search and rescuers from Rocky Search and Rescue (SARS).

“SARS came with four trucks with about 10-12 people. This was about 6:30 in the evening and they had to rope propel to the bottom of the cliff and sling the dog into the harness and basket where they brought him back to the top,” said Perschbacher.

The Perschbachers took Wrangler to the vet that night, where they discovered the only injuries the lab had were a dislocated front left wrist which could potentially require surgery, but other than that the dog is okay, said Perschbacher.

Justin and Jo-Anne are very thankful to Rocky Search and Rescue and their neighbors who helped, as well as the Gateway Companion Animal Clinic in Rocky.